1. Field of the Invention
A needle ejector apparatus is structurally adapted to receive a used vacuum tube container and attached needle therein and is specifically designed to accomplish separation of the needle from the vacuum tube container after use with blood sample vacuum tubes without necessitating the handling of the needle or the end of the vacuum tube to which the needle is threadably secured.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of vacuum tube containers with attached needles in combination with vacuum tubes for extracting blood from a patient for sampling and analysis is extremely widespread and a common practice in the medical field. In use, the needle on the vacuum tube container is inserted into a vein of a patient, most commonly along the arm, in such a manner so that the distal end of the needle is disposed within the interior of the vein in confronting relation to the flow of blood. An opposite end of the needle is disposed within the interior of the vacuum tube container and is covered with a rubber cap for sanitary purposes. To extract blood, a sealed vacuum tube is inserted into the vacuum tube container whereupon placing pressure on the vacuum tube causes the needle to penetrate the rubber cap and in turn, the seal on the vacuum tube as the end of the needle enters the interior of the tube. The vacuum within the tube causes blood to be drawn from the patient's vein through the needle and into the tube. The vacuum tube can then be removed, and a subsequent vacuum tube placed within the container to allow the attending physician to take a second sampling of blood. In this manner, numerous samples of blood can be taken through the same needle without the need of inserting a number of needles into a patient's arm. Presently, in the existing art, when sampling is completed with a particular patient, the needle and vacuum tube container are removed from the patient's arm and discarded. It is relatively simple to remove the needle from the vacuum tube container by simply unscrewing a threaded hub portion which secures the needle to the container. However, with the recent threat of the spread of Aids and other dangerous communicable diseases, it has become unlawful to handle any portion of the needle after it has been used to extract blood from a patient. Therefore, when blood sampling has been completed with a particular patient, the needle is left intact on the vacuum tube container and the entire assembly is discarded. While it is not unlawful to handle or reuse the vacuum tube container itself, because of the difficulty in separating the needle and container without handling any portion of the needle, physicians and other medical personnel have found it easiest to simply discard the entire needle and vacuum tube container assembly after each use.
It is common practice for a large medical facility to dispose of hundreds of these needle and vacuum tube container assemblies each day. The loss incurred from having to dispose of the container portion after each use can be quite substantial when calculated over a long period of time. While it is highly desirous and advantageous to remove the needle from the vacuum tube container in order to permit reuse of the container, the difficulty in removing the needle without actually handling it has discouraged most medical personnel from doing so.
Accordingly, there is a need in the medical industry as well as the associated instrument industry for an apparatus or device capable of effectively separating or ejecting the needle from the vacuum tube container subsequent to use thereof without requiring handling of the needle or touching any exterior surface surrounding the threaded hub portion thereof. Such an apparatus should be capable of unscrewing the needle and threaded hub portion from the threaded end of the vacuum tube container whereby a new needle can then be threadably attached to the vacuum tube container for the next use.